


Divinitea

by DesertWillow



Series: Dragon Age Meme Fills [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 10:26:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3116669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DesertWillow/pseuds/DesertWillow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kink Meme Fill. Request was for Solas and his distaste of tea.  This didn't 100% fulfill the prompt and instead turned into shameless tea porn.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Divinitea

Ellana knew something was the matter when she saw tea on her lover’s desk. She wasn’t very surprised, Adamant was hard for everyone and she suspected that the Arbor Wilds would be worse.

It was more clear that something was weighing heavily on his mind when he jumped after she wrapped her arms around him. Solas was not easy to sneak up on.

“You alright, ma sa'lath?” she murmured into his ear.

He gave a squeeze to the hands draped around his shoulders. “Yes, emma lath. Do not trouble yourself.”

She vaguely gestured to his half finished cup. “You’re drinking tea, though.”

He leaned his head against his chair. “I had trouble controlling the Fade last night. After being in that realm the Nightmare had created, it was difficult to focus. I wanted to do more research on these shards you keep finding, but was having trouble staying awake. Hence the tea.”

Ellana reach over and grabbed his cup. “He really bothered you, didn’t he? What did he say to you?” Solas was spared replying when she sputtered out the sip she had just taken. “What are you drinking?!”

“Tea. It’s cold but..”

“This is _not_ tea.”

“I assure you it is,” he told her firmly.

“Tea leaves may have been involved at some point,” the small elven woman said. “But this is no longer tea, warm or cold!”

“I know how to make tea, da’len.”

“Clearly you don’t! Somehow this is scaled and under brewed all at once. Let me make you a proper cup.”

“You really don’t have to…” Solas called out, but it was for nothing. The Inquisitor had already dashed out of his solarium.

 

* * *

 

She returned sometime later with several different cups filled with liquid in various colors. Surely tea wasn’t so varied.

“This is a bit much, my heart.”

“If that’s what you think is tea, it’s no wonder you don’t like drinking it.” Solas wished to press his point, but it was clear by the amount of effort Ellana had gone through that this meant a great deal to her. She placed her tea tray on his desk and then sat down next to it. He wasn’t expecting to enjoy the drinks but he didn’t mind the view.

Still, “I don’t know how you expect us to drink all of this. I only wished to be more alert, not jittery.”

“Oh, we don’t have to drink it all… I just made a few different cups so we could see if there is something you like.” She handed him a cup that was the darkest of the bunch. “This is a black tea with peppermint. I really like it when I have a cold, the peppermint helps when the Elfroot isn’t doing anything for a runny nose. This,” she pointed conspiratorially to the cup, “is _far_ more of an indulgence than I’m used to. I found it in Val Royale. There’s chocolate chips in it that melt when you brew it.” Her grin was infectious. “ _Way_ too good to be wasted on a cold. It’s currently my favorite.”

Solas took a sip of the dark liquid. It was definitely better than the tea he was drinking. The peppermint was invigorating while the chocolate offered a sweetness that lacked in his other cup.

“I sometimes mix it with milk when I really just want to drink it right away.” Ellana gestured to a small creamer he hadn’t noticed. “It cools it enough to be drinkable but not so much that it’s cold. But!” she held up a finger to emphasize her point. “Never add tea to milk. Always add milk to tea. If the tea is too hot, which black tea should be, it can curdle the milk.” Ellana made a face that scrunched up the Vallaslin on her nose. She clearly knew this from experience. “What do you think?”

“It’s nice but...:”

“But not for you?” she interrupted. “I figured this would be a bit of a stretch. This is the closest to _that_ ,” she gestured in distaste toward his abandon cup. “Delicious but strong.” She took the cup from his hand and replaced it with another. “This is a rooibos; a red tea. I’d never had it before but some Antivan dignitary sent us a bunch. This one is apple cinnamon flavored. It’s my current favorite.”

Solas smiled indulgently at the Inquisitor before he took a sip of the reddish liquid. It was much lighter than the black tea. Not just in color but taste as well. It lacked that kick that other teas had given him. It was more of a heady spice than a caffeine rush that hit him.

“So?” she asked hopefully.

He took another sip. “The taste isn’t unpleasant… but it doesn’t solve my biggest problem with tea.” She waited for more of an explanation. “I don’t like how much it stimulates me. Admittedly sometimes I need a bit of a pick-me-up, but after that first needed buzz, it continues to linger. It makes it difficult to travel the Fade.”

Her eyes light up in epiphany. “Oh! That’s why… Well, that’s easy to fix.” Passing over several other cups, she handed him the lightest colored beverage that was on the farthest point of the tray. “This is a white tea, specifically a white pear. It has very little caffeine in it and is a very delicate taste. I almost never add sugar to it and never, ever milk. It’s my current favorite.”

Solas took a sip. It was unlike any of the other teas he had previously tasted. Very smooth and lacking any of the bitterness he associated with tea. He could understand what she was saying about the taste. He was sure if you added anything to it, all of the subtlety would be lost. It was very refreshing, even as a warm drink. It reminded him of a forest when the sun had came out after a quick Spring shower. His enjoyment must have shown on his face because Ellana was beaming at him.

“You seem to have a lot of favorites, da'mi. Why do you like tea so much?”

“Because it’s delicious!” He gave her a knowing look that clearly said he wasn’t buying it. She sighed. “My cousin, when we were really young, desperately wanted to be a healer despite having zero magical talent. So he trained himself in herb lore. But some herbs are better for cooking or for tea than for potions. In the end he found he actually had a great skill at pairing herbs with food. Grilled pheasant can get old after having it for several days in a row. But add some garlic, some thyme.. Old becomes new.” She took a sip of the black tea Solas had abandon. “He became our full time cook, but part of him still wanted to heal. Somewhere along the way though, he realized not all hurts can be cured with stitches and Elfroot. Some just take a sympathetic ear and a warm cup of tea.” She breathed in the peppermint smell.

“Tea reminds you of the comforts of your home.” He said it as a statement of fact.

“Very much so. I used to resent that word, ‘home.’ How can you have a home when it’s been taken away and you move from place to place? Now I know, even if it’s on wheels, the Dalish still have a place they can call home if they're with their people.”

Solas placed a hand on her knee. She gave him a wan smile, feeling foolish for her sentimental nostalgia. But when she met his eyes, she found sympathy and compassion and some other emotion she couldn’t even begin to name.

“Well, I will say that this is better than that cup I previously made.” Ellana knew this was the closest he would get to admitting he was wrong.

“Oh infinitely better!” she replied, leaping at the change the topic. “You absolutely burned that tea.”

“You can burn tea?”  
  
“Oh yes! Especially something like this white. See…” She spent the next half hour teaching him about brew times and different temperatures. While he wasn’t fully sold on the beverage, he still enjoyed the company.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, all of these teas are real and are in my tea cabinet (along with about 100 other kinds). If you think I have a problem with the amount of tea I have, you're right. I should have more.
> 
> And you can in fact burn tea. If you have ever had a green tea at boiling temperature, then it's too hot.


End file.
